Aussies doing better than 10 years ago

AUSTRALIANS are earning more, living longer and are better educated than they were 10 years ago, data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics revealed on Tuesday.

The ABS released its Measure of Australia's progress report, showing a girl born in 2010 could expect to live until she was 84, while a boy born the same year could live to 79.5 years old.

ABS director of social and progress reporting Sue Taylor said the latest MAP release also found that education and employment were improving.

"In 2011, 64% of 25 to 64 years olds held a vocational or higher education qualification compared to 53% in 2001," she said.

"The annual average unemployment rate declined from 6.8% to 5.1% between 2001 and 2011 and the average household weekly income of low and middle-income households rose between 2000 and 2010," she said.

But it was not all good news. The latest MAP update also revealing both productivity and environmental indicators had declined.